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For the clearest spoiler-light story, play Alan Wake (2010) or Alan Wake Remastered (2021), then optional Alan Wake’s American Nightmare, Control (2019), Control: The Foundation, Control: AWE after Control’s Story Mission 7, and finally Alan Wake 2 (2023). Play Night Springs (June 2024) and The Lake House (October 2024) after the main Alan Wake 2 campaign, in either expansion-release order.
This sequence follows the way Remedy introduces its shared ideas: first the original writer-and-darkness mystery, then the Federal Bureau of Control’s paranatural world, then the AWE crossover, and finally the larger Alan Wake 2 story.
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CONTROL Ultimate Edition - PlayStation 5 | Buy on Amazon | |
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Control Ultimate Edition - PlayStation 4 | $29.95 | Buy on Amazon |
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Control Ultimate Edition (PS4) | $29.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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Control (Ultimate Edition) | $249.95 | Buy on Amazon |
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The recommended story order at a glance
Use this as the main path if you want the connections to land without unnecessary spoilers:
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- Alan Wake’s American Nightmare — optional side story, best played after the original Alan Wake.
- Control (2019) — play its main campaign.
- Control: The Foundation — optional, but recommended before the next step.
- Control: AWE — begin it after completing Control’s Story Mission 7, “The Face of the Enemy.”
- Alan Wake 2 (2023) — the strongest crossover context comes from having finished Control and AWE first.
- Alan Wake 2: Night Springs (June 2024) and The Lake House (October 2024) — play both after the main game, in either expansion-release order.
The core route is therefore Alan Wake → Control → AWE → Alan Wake 2. American Nightmare and The Foundation add context and atmosphere but are not required steps.
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- Uncover the mysteries - Can you handle the bureau’s dark secrets? Unfold an epic supernatural struggle, filled with unexpected characters and bizarre events, as you search for your missing brother, and discover the truth that has brought you here.
- Everything is your weapon - Unleash destruction through transforming weaponry and telekinetic powers. Discover new ways to annihilate your enemies as you harness powerful abilities to turn everything around you into a lethal weapon.
- Explore a hidden world - Delve deep into the ominous expanses of a secretive government agency. Explore the Bureau’s shifting environments only to discover that there is always more than meets the eye…
- Fight for control - Battle a relentless enemy through exciting missions and challenging boss fights to earn powerful upgrades that maximize abilities and customize your weaponry.
Why this is a story order rather than a strict chronology
Remedy does not publish one complete, event-by-event timeline that places every game, expansion, episode and collectible on a single calendar. The order above is a recommended narrative sequence based on the franchise relationship and on where each expansion becomes available in its host game. It preserves reveals and gives each new concept a useful introduction; it is not a claim that every scene occurs in release order.
Remedy’s 2023 annual report describes the relationship directly: “We now have two established franchises, Control and Alan Wake, which are linked through the Remedy Connected Universe.” That statement establishes the shared universe, while the games themselves reveal how the connection works. Playing Alan Wake first lets you experience its mystery on its own terms. Control then supplies the Federal Bureau of Control, its case-file view of the supernatural and the vocabulary used by later crossover material. AWE is the deliberate bridge into Alan Wake 2.
Step 1: Start with Alan Wake or Alan Wake Remastered
What you are supposed to learn here
Alan Wake is a 2010 psychological action thriller about a writer whose fiction and reality begin to overlap. It establishes the darkness, the role of written stories and the small-town setting that later games revisit. Its episodic structure also teaches you to look for documents, broadcasts and environmental details rather than treating every explanation as a conventional cutscene.
Which edition to choose
The original game is the first story, but Alan Wake Remastered is the practical entry point for many players. The remaster was released in 2021 and has current listings for console, PC and Switch platforms. Choose it when your system supports it, especially if you want a version that is straightforward to purchase and play on modern hardware. The narrative position is the same: the remaster does not move the game later in the universe.
Do not skip the main campaign because you intend to play Alan Wake 2. The sequel is designed to reward recognition of the first game’s characters, places and ideas. You can understand the broad premise without every earlier detail, but starting here makes later references more meaningful and avoids having the original mystery explained to you second-hand.
How much completion is necessary
Finish the principal Alan Wake story. Collectibles are optional; they deepen the fiction but are not a prerequisite for Control or Alan Wake 2. If you are playing for story order, treat optional recordings and manuscript pages as enrichment rather than a checklist that must delay the next game.
Step 2: Decide whether to play American Nightmare
Where it fits
Alan Wake’s American Nightmare belongs after the original Alan Wake. It is a related side story, not a replacement for the first game and not a required chapter between Alan Wake and Control.
What it contributes
The side story explores another angle on Alan’s situation and uses a more self-contained structure. It is useful if you want additional atmosphere, character perspective and experimentation with the series’ fiction-within-fiction ideas. It does not provide a mandatory explanation for the main Control-to-Alan Wake 2 route.
If you are trying to reach the connected-universe material quickly, move directly from Alan Wake to Control. If you enjoy optional lore and want to see more of Alan’s story before changing protagonists, insert American Nightmare here. Do not place it after Control as a prerequisite; that makes its role seem more important than it is.
Step 3: Play Control’s main campaign
Why Control comes next
Control (2019) changes viewpoint and genre emphasis while retaining Remedy’s interest in unstable reality, altered stories and hidden rules. You enter the Federal Bureau of Control, an organization that investigates phenomena it calls paranatural. Its headquarters, the Oldest House, functions as both setting and evidence: the building, its files and its rituals explain how this universe classifies events that ordinary institutions cannot.
Playing Control before its crossover expansion matters because AWE assumes that you understand the Bureau, its investigations and its protagonist. The main campaign also gives you the abilities and systems needed to navigate the expansion comfortably.
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- Control Ultimate Edition contains the main game and all previously released expansions ("The Foundation" and "Awe") in one great value package
- Can you handle The Bureau's dark secrets? Unfold an epic supernatural struggle, filled with unexpected characters and bizarre events, as you search for your missing brother, and discover the truth that has brought you here.
- Unleash destruction through transforming weaponry and telekinetic powers. Discover new ways to annihilate your enemies as you harness powerful abilities to turn everything around you into a lethal weapon
- Delve deep into the ominous expanses of a secretive government agency. Explore The Bureau's shifting environments only to discover that there is always more than meets the eye
- Battle a relentless enemy through exciting missions and challenging boss fights to earn powerful upgrades that maximize abilities and customize your weaponry
How far to play before the expansions
Complete the main story through Story Mission 7, “The Face of the Enemy.” That mission is the unlock point for AWE. You may continue farther into the campaign before starting the expansion, but do not expect the AWE missions to appear before that requirement is met.
If you own Control Ultimate Edition, Remedy’s support guidance documents access to both The Foundation and AWE in that edition. The missions still depend on the relevant progression requirements; owning the edition does not make the content appear at the opening of the game.
Step 4: Play The Foundation (optional, recommended)
What The Foundation is for
Control: The Foundation expands the Bureau’s setting and explains more about the deep structure beneath the Oldest House. It is primarily a Control story, so its immediate payoff is understanding the Bureau’s world rather than learning a direct Alan Wake plot point.
Play it after you have advanced far enough in the main campaign for the expansion to unlock. Placing it before AWE is the cleanest route because it lets you finish the major Control-focused material before moving into the crossover chapter. If you prefer a shorter path, you can skip it and still follow AWE and Alan Wake 2; the expansion is recommended context, not a gate.
Who should not skip it
- Players who want the Bureau’s larger mythology: the expansion adds institutional and setting detail that the base campaign cannot cover.
- Players focused only on the Alan Wake connection: you can omit it without losing the basic placement of AWE.
- Players using Ultimate Edition: install or enable the expansion, then follow the in-game unlock prompt rather than assuming all missions are immediately selectable.
Step 5: Start AWE only after The Face of the Enemy
The exact unlock condition
Remedy’s support guidance says the AWE missions become available after you complete Control’s Story Mission 7, “The Face of the Enemy.” This is the practical checkpoint to remember. If you cannot find the expansion mission, check that the story mission is complete and that the expansion is installed or enabled for your edition.
Why AWE is the bridge
AWE brings the Federal Bureau’s investigation framework into direct contact with the Alan Wake side of the universe. It is the point where a player who has only seen two separate games receives an explicit connective tissue between them. The expansion is still a Control chapter in terms of protagonist, location and mechanics, but its subject matter prepares you for the way Alan Wake 2 handles overlapping investigations and realities.
For that reason, play the complete AWE story before starting Alan Wake 2. Starting the sequel first will not make it unplayable, but it removes the intended progression from “this is an unusual case” to “these cases belong to a shared framework.”
Can you play AWE before The Foundation?
Yes. The critical requirement is the Story Mission 7 unlock, not completion of The Foundation. The recommended sequence puts The Foundation first because it keeps the optional material grouped with Control, while AWE then serves as the final bridge out of that game.
Step 6: Play Alan Wake 2
Why the sequel follows AWE
Alan Wake 2 (2023) is the next major story after the Control-era setup. It broadens the connected universe rather than functioning as a simple continuation of one character’s campaign. The prior games are not merely trivia: Alan Wake supplies the original mystery, Control supplies the Bureau and paranatural lens, and AWE demonstrates how those strands touch.
The sequel can be approached by newcomers, but the recommended order reduces the amount of explanation you need while playing. You recognize why certain reports, names and investigations matter instead of encountering them as unexplained references.
What counts as “finished” before moving on
Complete the main Alan Wake 2 campaign before starting its expansions. This preserves the sequel’s own pacing and prevents expansion material from interrupting its central resolution. You do not need every collectible or optional investigation to move to the next step.
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- Uncover the mysteries. Can you handle the bureau's dark secrets? Unfold an epic supernatural struggle, filled with unexpected characters and bizarre events, as you search for your missing brother, and discover the truth that has brought you here
- everything is your weapon. Unleash destruction through transforming weaponry and telekinetic powers. Discover New ways to annihilate your enemies as you harness powerful abilities to turn everything around you into a lethal weapon
- explore a hidden world. Delve deep into the Ominous expanses of a secretive government Agency. Explore the bureau's shifting environments only to discover that there is always more than meets the eye
- fight for control. Battle a relentless enemy through exciting missions and challenging boss fights to earn powerful upgrades that maximize abilities and customize your weaponry
- players who purchase control ultimate Edition for PS4 will be able to download the next-gen optimized version when transitioning to PS5.Please note that the control ultimate Edition PS4 Blu-ray disc must be kept insert in the PS5 console to play the corresponding PS5 digital version
Physical and digital availability
Remedy’s 2024 annual report records that the physical version of Alan Wake 2 launched in October 2024. Platform and regional stock can change, so check the edition sold in your country when purchasing. The October date describes the physical launch; it does not change the game’s story position after Control and AWE.
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Step 7: Play Night Springs and The Lake House
Night Springs
Alan Wake 2: Night Springs was released in June 2024. It is expansion content for the sequel, so play it after the main game. Its format and perspective are designed as additional episodes rather than as an earlier chapter that should be inserted between the original Alan Wake and Control.
The Lake House
Alan Wake 2: The Lake House was released in October 2024. It also belongs after the main Alan Wake 2 campaign. Because both expansions follow the base game, you can play Night Springs first and then The Lake House, or reverse that order. The release sequence—June followed by October—is the simplest default, but there is no required story-order distinction between the two once the main campaign is complete.
Should you replay Control before the expansions?
No replay is required. If you finished Control and AWE before Alan Wake 2, the relevant context is already in place. A replay can be worthwhile for detail-hunters, but it is a personal preference rather than part of the recommended order.
Core path versus optional branches
| Game or expansion | Story necessity | Connected-universe relevance | Availability or edition note | Spoiler risk if delayed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alan Wake (2010) | Required starting point for the fullest route | Establishes Alan, the darkness and the original mystery | Original release; modern players may use the 2021 remaster | High: later stories assume familiarity with its premise |
| Alan Wake Remastered (2021) | Same story role as the original | Identical narrative position | Current console, PC and Switch listings are available according to Remedy’s game information | High if skipped entirely, not if you choose the original instead |
| American Nightmare | Optional | Additional Alan material, but not a required bridge | Play after the original Alan Wake | Low for the main Control-to-sequel path |
| Control (2019) | Required for the strongest crossover route | Introduces the Federal Bureau of Control and paranatural framework | Control Ultimate Edition packages the documented expansions | Medium: AWE and later references assume its setting |
| The Foundation | Optional, recommended | Deepens Control’s setting and mythology | Expansion; unlock depends on game progression and edition support | Low if omitted |
| AWE | Recommended for the strongest route; not mandatory to operate Alan Wake 2 | Direct bridge between Control and Alan Wake | Unlocks after Story Mission 7, “The Face of the Enemy” | High if you want crossover reveals to arrive in intended order |
| Alan Wake 2 (2023) | Required before its own expansions | Builds on both franchises | Physical version launched October 2024; regional stock varies | High for its expansions |
| Night Springs (June 2024) | Optional expansion | Additional sequel-era perspectives | Play after the main game | Low if played after the base campaign |
| The Lake House (October 2024) | Optional expansion | Additional sequel-era material | Play after the main game | Low if played after the base campaign |
Three sensible ways to approach the series
The complete spoiler-light route
- Alan Wake Remastered
- American Nightmare
- Control
- The Foundation
- Control Mission 7, “The Face of the Enemy”
- AWE
- Alan Wake 2
- Night Springs
- The Lake House
This is the best choice when you want every relevant game and expansion without inserting optional content in a confusing place.
The essential connected-universe route
- Alan Wake or Alan Wake Remastered
- Control
- Reach Mission 7, “The Face of the Enemy”
- AWE
- Alan Wake 2
- Night Springs and The Lake House
Choose this route if your priority is the Alan–Control connection rather than every side story. It drops American Nightmare and The Foundation without breaking the main sequence.
The shortest route to Alan Wake 2
- Alan Wake or the remaster
- Control through the point where AWE unlocks
- AWE
- Alan Wake 2
This keeps the material that most directly supports the crossover and omits both optional branches. You still receive the essential setup: the original Alan Wake premise, the Bureau’s framework and the explicit bridge.
Common ordering mistakes and fixes
Starting AWE at the beginning of Control
Symptom: the expansion mission is missing or its context feels abrupt. Fix: complete Story Mission 7, “The Face of the Enemy,” then return to the Bureau’s mission menu or the in-game prompt. Installing an edition that contains the DLC does not bypass this progression requirement.
Playing Alan Wake 2 before AWE
Symptom: references to Bureau investigations or crossover events seem like unexplained background. Fix: if you have already started the sequel, you do not need to restart to finish it. Complete the current campaign, then play Control and AWE as a retrospective context pass; for a first playthrough, however, the recommended order remains Control then AWE then Alan Wake 2.
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Treating American Nightmare as mandatory
Symptom: you postpone Control because you think another full Alan campaign is required. Fix: place American Nightmare after the original if you want it, or skip it and continue. It is related optional material, not a prerequisite for understanding the principal crossover.
Confusing editions with different stories
Symptom: you wonder whether the remaster or Ultimate Edition changes the order. Fix: editions change presentation or package content, not the narrative position. The 2021 Alan Wake Remastered still occupies the 2010 story slot, and Control Ultimate Edition still requires the documented progression points for its expansions.
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- Utilize your surroundings as weapons
- Venture into a concealed realm
- Strive for dominance
What you do and do not need to understand
You do need
- The main Alan Wake story, in either its 2010 release or 2021 remaster.
- The main Control campaign before its crossover expansion.
- Mission 7, “The Face of the Enemy,” completed before AWE becomes available.
- The full AWE chapter for the clearest bridge into Alan Wake 2.
- The main Alan Wake 2 campaign before either of its expansions.
You do not need
- Every collectible, document or optional investigation.
- American Nightmare to understand the main path.
- The Foundation to unlock the basic AWE-to-sequel sequence.
- A single official chronological timeline, because Remedy has not published one complete event-by-event ordering for all episodes and collectibles.
- To buy a physical copy specifically to follow the story order; the physical release date is an availability detail, not a narrative requirement.
Frequently asked questions
Is Alan Wake Remastered the first game?
It is the remastered version of the first Alan Wake story. Play it first in the recommended order; the 2021 release date does not make it a sequel.
Do I play AWE before Alan Wake 2?
Yes, if you want the strongest crossover context. Finish Control’s Story Mission 7 first so AWE unlocks, complete the expansion, and then start Alan Wake 2.
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Play it after the original Alan Wake. It is optional side material and can be omitted without blocking Control, AWE or Alan Wake 2.
Do I need Control’s DLC to understand Alan Wake 2?
You can play the sequel without every Control expansion, but AWE is the recommended bridge and provides the clearest crossover context. The Foundation is useful optional background rather than a required explanation.
Which Alan Wake 2 expansion comes first?
Both expansions follow the main game. The documented release order is Night Springs in June 2024, then The Lake House in October 2024, but either order is acceptable after you finish the base campaign.
The bottom line
For one clean, spoiler-light route, play Alan Wake Remastered, optionally American Nightmare, then Control, optionally The Foundation, AWE after “The Face of the Enemy,” and Alan Wake 2. Finish the sequel before Night Springs and The Lake House. This sequence follows Remedy’s explicitly linked Control–Alan Wake universe while keeping optional stories in their proper places.
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Is Alan Wake Remastered the first game?
It is the remastered version of the first Alan Wake story, so it occupies the opening slot in the recommended order.
Do I play AWE before Alan Wake 2?
Yes. Complete Control’s Story Mission 7, “The Face of the Enemy,” wait for AWE to unlock, finish it, and then start Alan Wake 2.
Where does American Nightmare fit?
Play it after the original Alan Wake. It is optional and does not block the Control-to-Alan-Wake-2 path.
Do I need Control’s DLC to understand Alan Wake 2?
AWE is recommended because it is the clearest bridge; The Foundation is useful background but optional.
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Both follow the main campaign. Night Springs released in June 2024 and The Lake House in October 2024, but either order works after the base game.
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